Cheryl Burke was "shocked" by her COVID-19 diagnosis.
Cheryl Burke
The 37-year-old star and Cody Rigsby were both absent from the 'Dancing With the Stars' studio on Monday (27.09.21), after Cheryl tested positive for the virus, and she's admitted to being shocked by the news.
The dancer - who has received the Moderna vaccine and is now in quarantine - shared: "I had no idea I had COVID at all actually. I did start to feel like maybe I was coming down with like a flu or maybe I was just totally worn out from travelling or whatever, or lack of sleep, but never did I ever think it was going to be COVID.
"Obviously, when I got tested and it was positive, I was shocked. And sad, because I just knew it wasn't gonna be possible for me to dance, for sure."
Cheryl's positive test result meant that the judges were left to critique footage from a rehearsal performance of their salsa.
Cheryl and Cody were given a score of 24 out of 40 points by the judges - but Cody has insisted he was more concerned for the welfare of his dance partner than anything else.
He told 'Entertainment Tonight': "I had COVID back in late January/early February, and this was back, obviously, before the vaccine, so I know how hard it hits. And I got a really bad case.
"I was just worried about Cheryl, because even though she's young and healthy, no one knows how this virus and affect anyone. So I just wanted to make sure she was OK."
Meanwhile, Martin Kove and his partner Britt Stewart were voted off the show, after they finished at the bottom of the leaderboard during both weeks of the season so far.
The 'Karate Kid' star left the show after the judges opted to save Christine Chiu and Pasha Pashkov instead.
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